Caro wins state wrestling title

Las Cruces wrestler Autiana Caro embodies the spirit of the Bulldawg girls team. At some point during the season, head coach Jimmy Nevarez and his staff realized their expectations for the squad may have been too modest.

The team rose to the challenge, ultimately finishing second in the team standings at the state tournament.

Leading the way was the girls team’s lone individual state champion, a junior who entered the 115-pound bracket as the No. 6 seed but defeated every opponent she faced to claim the top spot on the podium.

Caro had never wrestled before arriving at Las Cruces High as a freshman. She qualified for state that year but went 0-2 in her matches. In 2025, a concussion sidelined her from the state championships altogether. Given her limited postseason experience, this year’s result might have seemed unlikely — but Caro never saw it that way.

“I went to the room, and I worked out all summer,” Caro said of her approach after missing her sophomore postseason. “When I came back, I focused more on my technique. I focused more on drilling. I worked extremely hard on my cardio. I pushed myself past my limits to be where I wanted to be.”

That effort paid off in a big way.

Caro faced a moment of doubt in her quarterfinal match against Sydney Koranyi of Albuquerque Academy. Wrestling from the bottom position, where she’s less comfortable, she felt a twinge of nerves. Still, she pulled out a narrow 5-4 decision to advance. In the state final, she pinned fifth-seeded Aneira Yaney of La Cueva in the first round.

“I had to calm myself down,” Caro said. “I told myself, ‘This is my match. This is my moment.’ And the feeling just went away.”

Before high school, Caro was a softball player, but she was quickly drawn to the energy of the wrestling room.

“The drive, the dedication, the hard work you put into the sport — it really reflects in how you wrestle,” she said. “I love everything about it. I love the people. I love the coaches. I love the environment. I love how I can put myself out there and wrestle for myself.”

She doesn’t miss softball at all. For Caro, it’s all about what happens on the mat.

Confident in her abilities, the junior still didn’t expect to find herself atop the state podium. It wasn’t until after her semifinal win that she began to believe the title was within reach. Now, she carries that championship confidence into the offseason, already looking ahead to the chance to return.